Today's Fanboy Delusion

 Today I'd rather be...

... raising Patrick Wilson back from the "Ded."

You Can See Everything in 400 Words or Less

There's an ad campaign for Nathan Fielder's You Can See Everything that's currenttly scourging my commute -- as seen above in a photo I took just this morning, the New York City subway system is wallpapered with Elizabeth Holmes' uncanny peepers. And it's been an effective one for A24 -- not only because the documentary is selling out all of its showings but because the image is, dare I say, eye-catching (yes feel free to groan). It really lodges itself in your brain. But it also underlines what my main issue with the film is (and I got into this a little bit on Bluesky right after I saw the film Sunday, you can read that here; I may repeat thoughts from those posts now) -- Fielder seems to think there's something inherently fascinating staring into the eyes of a pathological liar, but I just don't. 

YCSE just stares and stares at Holmes' face for the longest stretches, expending so much effort in unearthing her impossible truth, and I just could not give a flying fuck. She is just not compelling to me. Giving sociopaths this much time and energy is not worth my time, or your time, or Fielder's time frankly. Our cultural obsession with sociopaths is one of our main problems. People seem bowled over by where Fielder takes this fixation -- the second-half introduction of [redacted] is a lot of fun but I didn't find it particularly revelatory. You can tell how pleased with himself Fielder is as he and his co-director Lance Oppenheim cut back between actors and recreations and real subjects watching reenactments and on as if he's solved the Hellraiser puzzle-box but it's like multiplying zeroes for me -- none of this adds up to anything of substance. These are questions that far better filmmakers who don't rely on buzzy gimmickry have been asking about "fiction" and "non-fiction" filmmaking for generations. If Fielder was creating something actually artful out of this meta maelstrom -- if he was making something like Charlie Kaufman's Adaptation, say -- then that would be a different potato. But he just kind of plops all of this dog-half-eaten homework at our feet as expects us to be bowled over. He managed to crawl and curl up inside an ass of his own making -- huzzah for him, I guess.

There's Something in the River

For someone as devoted to kaiju cinema as me it's a little weird that I never cottoned much to Bong Joon-ho's beloved 2006 monster movie The Host -- to be honest I haven't seen it since it came out and my memory is fuzzy as to what exactly bothered me about it, so perhaps I should do a re-watch now that it's getting a 20th anniversary (sigh) 4K remaster and re-release. (Hopefully they upgraded the monster CG because I do recall that was pretty shitty back in 2006.) But if nothing else that new poster seen above was worth the effort -- that's an absolutely gorgeous poster. The re-release is happening November 21st & 23rd (two separate days, kinda weird) and below is the trailer. Any fans of this movie? I assume so since even in 2006 I was on a bit of a lonely island, not loving it, and the Bong Cult has only multiplied exponentially since then. (I remain firmly ensconced in Team Park Chan-wook when it comes to South Korean Genre Directors.)  

Tyriq Withers Seventeen Times

Okay so clearly all the extraordinary happenings are under the cover of People's 2026 "Sexiest Man Alive" issue -- yesterday I showed you Emily in Paris stars Lucien Laviscount & Lucas Bravo getting all comfy together, and here today comes a hefty spread of noted favorite hot piece Tyriq Withers! And damn it's a good one. Hit the jump for them all...

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

Good Morning, World

Mason Gooding sends his love.

Eiffel Me Up

Headed to a screening of Peter Berg's football / war movie The Mosquito Bowl tonight where the cast will be in attendance for a Q&A and reception after  so it's likely I'm about to be in a room with those two above and... [redacted]. Ahem. Keep your eyes on my Instagram for pics!

Which is Hotter?

I don't have much to say about People's pick for "Sexiest Man Alive" this year because -- unlike last year -- this year's pick is a reminder that their whole business is not aimed at me (i.e. it's straight people nonsense). That said I've also just been confronted with these photos of Emily in Paris stars Lucien Laviscount and Lucas Bravo posing together as two of the many runners-up and you know what? I suddenly do feel catered to. So poll we must...

online polls

Hit the jump for a few more snaps...

Drew Starkey Sixteen Times

As terrific as I thought Drew Starkey was in Luca Guadagnino's Queer I wasn't sure he'd translate that into a career I was deeply invested in -- and I'm still not. But I'm more convinced than I was then thanks to his weird-ass turn in the horror flick Onslaught a couple of months ago, which was far and away my favorite thing about that mediocre movie. (Two minutes of Rebecca Hall excepted, of course.) He's not just a one-trick-pony who excelled at being an object of lust in a Luca movie after all. We're paying attention now, Drew! And this new photoshoot for Another Man Magazine isn't hurting his cause either; hit the jump for the whole thing...

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

 ... you can learn from:

After the Hunt (2025)

Alma: I feel like deep inside I always expected this.

I expected the rottenness in me to be seen by 

other people right before I managed to expunge it.

Hank: Spoken like a true woman... 

I never felt myself be rotten at all.

Alma: Spoken like a true man.

A happy birthday to Julia Roberts today! (My review.)

Am I the only person who thinks about this movie daily?

I hope Criterion comes through one of these days;

this is not a movie that should exist only on streaming.

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

 

Good Morning, World

I am being lazy this morning and just sharing a new photoshoot of Taron Egerton that I had on hand -- this is for L'Officiel magazine -- even though there's nothing "Morning" related about it. I do try to fulfill my own basic rules in such matters but sometimes... no. He's not even showing any skin here -- these are a lot of clothes! -- but he looks great. (And I guess he showed plenty of skin in his last movie so we're even now.) I wouldn't have guessed that the buzzed hair would suit him and I was wrong and he should keep it. Right? Anyway blah blah I said I was feeling lazy this morning and I meant it so just hit the jump for the photos whilst I see if I can wrangle up any sense of energy over here...

Which is Hotter?

online polls

It probably would've made more sense to do this poll two weeks ago when the new Sense and Sensibility movie hit theaters -- did any of you see it? It's very good! Not Ang Lee good but very good nonetheless. But I didn't have the below brand new photoshoot of actor Herbert Nordrum for Man About Town magazine to share two weeks ago, and that's what actually inspired this post into happening. While I assume Dreamboat Georgie will walk away with this, who knows -- I think any of us who saw The Worst Person in the World felt Nordrum steal a little piece of our hearts, and he's just as low-key lovely in this S&S. Anyway I hope he's in lots and lots of things to come! Hit the jump for the full shoot...   

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein (2025)

Victor: How often a man believes he's met an angel or a devil, 

only to find it is all an illusion. The game of chess 

we play... We play only against ourselves.

I know the film isn't actually called "Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein" but I have decided that's what I am calling it from now on -- it helps differentiate it from the others. Anyway we're here to mark the film's rescue off of Netflix by Criterion, who've given us the gift of the movie on 4K disc out today -- huzzah! I haven't had a chance to watch this copy yet but it's sitting there on my shelf waiting for a cold night not far off I imagine. What is everybody's opinion on this movie? I think I fall into the general camp which is it's good, but not as great as I'd hoped. Save Elordi who is really absolutely terrific as the Monster. Also we get some naked Oscar Isaac and that's never a demerit! I do wish I loved the movie a little more -- Mia Goth is sadly wasted -- but perhaps that will come with time and multiple re-watches. You certainly can't knock the craft on display -- the sets, the costumes, they're all total stunners. And yes by "costume" obviously I mean Jacob little bandage panties. Duh.

Will Price Nine Times

It's extremely odd that actor Will Price here has acted in two count 'em two Luca Guadagnino movies -- the first being After the Hunt (he played the signature Straight White Male student who got heaped on a few times in Julia Roberts' class) and the second being Luca's upcoming Artificial, which I reviewed right here -- and yet it wasn't either of those movies that made him catch my eye. No instead it's his role as a preening douchebag in Noah Segan's The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, the movie that just hit limited screens this past weekend which will probably get its leading man John Turturro a Best Actor nomination if not a whole damn win for his performance. Will's character is extremely annoying (on purpose), somebody you really wanna punch, and yet... well he's great in the part but I was having a lot of other thoughts too. (Do you see those lips? The boy sure has a purdy mouth, as the saying goes.) Anyway I just saw Pickpocket two nights ago so this is all fresh to me -- thankfully this very fine photoshoot for Hero Magazine was here to help me out, then! Hit the jump for all the snaps...

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

Charles Melton Gives Good Pounding

No I have no idea why this new-to-me video of Charles Melton's shirtless fight scene in Nicolas Winding Refn's Her Private Hell getting choreographed has suddenly made its way onto the internet (via) -- I am just happy it did. It's a nice way to use thirty seconds of my day today -- okay let's be honest, it'll be several times that because I'll clearly be watching this clip several times. Have you watched this movie yet? I've watched it a couple more times since getting the 4K disc and I regret nothing. (My review.) Masterpiece!

Good Morning, World

Some days only Robert Conrad will do.

He Got Squid Game

I don't usually post about events happening in cities that aren't NYC -- because fuck you people, I surely can't go so you just figure it out for yourselves. But I want to post artist Bruno Vergauwen's gorgeous new poster for Andrzej Żuławski's horror masterpiece Possession, seen there above, and so here we are. There's a show featuring new work by Vergauwen and one of my personal faves, the artist who calls himself Elvisdead, that's happening at the Outpost 512 Gallery in Texas this Friday -- anyway they're slowly revealing the new posters and art that will be featured and that poster there popped my cork, it did. I'm deeply jealous of anyone who can go to this show -- I already own a large pile of Elvisdead's posters (one seen below; his work is basically covering the wall behind my bed!) but I'd murder kill to get a copy of that Possession sheet. Sigh!

The great Elvisdead does Oz

[image or embed]

— Jason Takes Man-Adams (@jamnpp.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 7:31 PM

All the Creatures Are Stirring

Did anybody go see Laika's Wildwood this weekend? I'm always shocked that their movies never make big money but then I suppose I shouldn't overestimate the hunger of the American audience for off-the-beaten-path children's entertainment -- why watch an exquisite labor of love that took sixteen years to make when you can turn your children's brains into slop machines via the latest Illumination crap-heap instead? Anyway Wildwood is wonderful, another treasure from the greatest animation studio around, click on over to Pajiba to read my review which dropped this here afternoon. If you're going to see this GO SEE IT ON A BIG SCREEN -- the absolutely insane luxury of these visuals demand it and I promise you you'll regret missing it in a few years time when it's taken its place alongside all of Laika's other movies as masterpiece canon.